Indonesian Ambassador to South Korea John A. Prasetio on behalf of President Yudhoyono conferred the medal on Kim at the Indonesian Embassy in Seoul on Friday, the embassy said in a statement released.
President Yudhoyono was supposed to present the medal of merit to Kim who is now a South Korean member of parliament last year. But because of the latter`s hectic activities the conferment of the medal materialized only this year.
Also present at the conferment ceremony were executives of South Korean strategic industries such as Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine
Engineering (DSME) and Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI), as well as the official of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MOFAT).
In his address the Indonesian ambassador expressed gratitude to Kim who during his term of office as naval chief of staff contributed a lot to close cooperation between the two navies.
South Korean Marine Corps granted amphibian vehicle LV17 A-1 to its Indonesian counterpart while Kim was naval chief. Personnel of Indonesian Navy`s submarines also received training when Indonesian warship KRI Nanggala underwent overhaul at DSME in 2010-2011.
Kim had also contributed to the procurement of Korean-made submarines for the Indonesian Navy this year.
(Uu.S012/O001/F002)
Editor: Priyambodo RH
Copyright © ANTARA 2012
